Fuchise sets 1:28:03 national 20km Race Walk record

Masumi Fuchise, who finished 27th in the 20km Race Walk in the 2007 World Championships, won the national 20Km walk championships in Kobe on Sunday 25 January.

Fuchise’s winning time established a new national record of 1:28:03, eclipsing the previous record of 1:28:56 set by Mayumi Kawasaki in 2007. 

GranadaDeportes.es Translated

Paquillo Fernández (three time World silver medallist at 20km) will race his first  50km on 1 March in the Spanish Championshipsp. The walker from Agrupaejidoin Almería has decided, in agreement with his coach Robert Korzeniowski, to make his long awaited debut for the Spanish Championship which falls on March 1 in the town of San Pedro de Pinatar. He has also announced he will not be racing the European Cup.

AAI

It was good day to be indoors considering the weather around the southern half of the country today. The second day of competition at the Nenagh indoor stadium brought some of the country’s leading athletes together for the annual AAI Indoor Games.

One of the first events on track was the men’s 3,000m walk and that brought Irish Olympian Robert Heffernan back to a venue that he has graced so well for many years. Today he gave yet another exhibition of race walking and his fluent style showed just why he has made it to the very top of his chosen event. He easily won in a time of 11:32.04.

marathonscene.com

German race walker Melanie Seeger is pregnant and will deliver her first child in July, so that a participation in the events of the 2009 world championships will not be possible.

The 32-year old, who competed in every major competition since 1995 (excluding the 2000 Olympics) said that she is willing to continue her competitive career after giving birth: “I will start to train again in autumn. The European Championships 2010 in Barcelona are an aim for me. The biggest achievements of Melanie Seeger are 5th place in the 2004 Olympics, 7th place at the 2001 World Champs and 8th place at the 2003 Worlds (all at 20km race walking).

Father of the child is the Belgian Dries Vervecken, who works at the FU university Berlin.

Tamworth Herald

TAMWORTH race walking ace Mark Williams has revealed qualification for the Commonwealth Games is his next goal following a successful 2008.

Participation in the Games would be an ambition realised for Williams who suffered heartbreak at the 2006 event held in Australia.

Williams qualified for the Games then but a reduction in numbers made to the team meant he was forced to miss out.

Speaking to Herald Sport, Williams spoke of his determination to reach the 2010 Games held in India.

He said: “Qualifying for the Commonwealth is my long-term aim. With it being in India it would be a great experience.

Richard Robb has won his first trophy since taking up race walking.

The veteran Blackburn Harrier took to the sport a year ago looking to extend his career as a member of the Great Britain Learning Disability (LD) Team after serving with distinction as a cross country runner.

His first move was to join the Lancashire Race Walking Club as a second claim member, and he is being coached by one of the best, John Payn of Chorley AC, the man who won a bronze medal as an over 75 in the European Masters Championships last summer.

IAAF

In the short history of the annual IAAF Race Walking Challenge no woman can match Romania’s Claudia Stef in terms of consistency.

In its six years she had been ranked five times in the top six (the last five), and four times in the first three positions. Her best placing was in 2006 when Stef took the overall title.

Speaking while on a training visit to Portugal, the 30-year-old Romanian spoke proudly of her achievements:

EAA

After winning the 20km race walking bronze medal at the Beijing Olympic Games Italian Elisa Rigaudo is already chalking out plans to script another successful year. 

The 28-year-old is among the select bunch of race walkers who are planning to compete at indoor championships this season. 

The bronze medalist at the 2006 European Athletic Championships will start her 2009 season with the Italian Indoor Championships in Torino on February 20-21.  

The event is a trial run for the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships also to be held in Torino from March 6-8.